Weight Loss & Diet Plans

Danger Lurking in Some Dietary Supplements?

Dietary Supplements: How to Play It Safe

In the report, Consumer Reports also identifies 11 supplements "to consider." On that list: calcium, cranberry, fish oil, glucosamine sulfate, lactase, lactobacillus, psyllium, pygeum, SAMe, St. John's wort, and vitamin D.

For safer supplement use, Metcalf says, consumers can beware of products that have been linked with the most problems -- those for weight loss, sexual enhancement, and body building.

A product that has a "USP Verified" mark means the manufacturer has asked the U.S. Pharmacopeia, a nonprofit standards-setting authority, to verify the quality, purity, and potency of its raw ingredients or the finished product.

Consumers can also check out alerts and advisories regarding dietary supplements on the web sites of the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements and the FDA.